(Yicai Global) Aug. 28 -- Beijing officially kicked off its first car-sharing demonstration area in Shijingshan district on Aug. 27, with a total of 200 vehicles entering distribution, state-owned news agency Xinhua reported.

The number of cars in circulation will increase to 600 by the end of the year in the district, which includes Wanda business district, the International Sculpture Park, and surrounding areas of Babaoshan subway station.

The move is part of Shijingshan district's plans to build a car-sharing operation network over the coming three years.

The use of time-share vehicles has become popular in China in recent years due to their eco-friendly features and lower energy consumption.

"We expanded our business coverage tenfold from 1,000 cars and 100 lease points at the end of 2016 to 10,000 cars and 1,000 lease points as of June this year," said Tan Yi, chief operating officer at Beijing Shouqi Group Co.'s new energy car-sharing platform, Gofun.

Increasing costs of buying and keeping cars in big cities have created a vast potential market for sharing cars, industry insiders say. However, as car-sharing operations require a lot of local licenses, parking spaces and other public resources, their expansion may be hindered.